The city has seen intense fighting in recent weeks as both sides struggle to advance along the front line. Ukraine’s General Staff said on Friday that Russia had intensified its offensive on Avdiyivka in an effort to encircle and capture the strategically and symbolically important city in eastern Ukraine.
“The directions of Avdijivka and Marijinka are particularly difficult,” he said. – Many Russian attacks. But our positions are protected.”
Avdijivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, when it was briefly occupied by Russian-backed separatists.
Avdijivka is just 15 km from the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk. Last September, Russia announced that it had annexed the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
After a failed Russian offensive earlier this month that saw armored columns and tanks move from three sides, Ukrainian troops were ready for a new assault on Avdiyivka.
About 30,000 people lived in Avdijivka, where a huge coke factory operated. people.
According to local officials, there are about 1.6 thousand left in it. of people living in basements turned into bomb shelters.
Daily Russian artillery fire and months of aerial bombardment have left the city center nearly destroyed.
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